HSE Archives - Blue Square Safety

2016 saw some big changes in the health and safety industry, in particular with the new sentencing guidelines that came into force a year ago. Blue Square Safety believe that 2017 will be a positive year for health and safety. The foundations laid in 2016 will ensure that collectively we can continue to minimise risk

A 2015 case was concluded last week with jail for the building site manager Faruk Patel after one of his workers fell through a flat roof skylight and later died in hospital. We take a look at the events and safety failings that led to Mr Patel being found guilty. The case is an extreme

Last week, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) released their provisional statistics for the number of workers fatally injured in 2015/16. The provisional number of work-related deaths for 2015-16 is 144, 7% lower than the five-year average of 155. Sadly the total is higher than last year’s finalised figure of 142. The total work-related deaths in

Health and safety in the entertainment industry involves planning, managing and monitoring events to ensure that health and safety risks are neutralised to prevent the occurrence of accidents. No matter how large or small your event, it is essential that health and safety is taken into account early on in the planning stages and on a

British Telecommunications PLC has been fined £600k after two of its employees were seriously injured in falls from height. Teesside Crown Court heard how two British Telecommunications (BT) Open Reach engineers had been given a job at BT’s Darlington Automatic Telephone Exchange on April 1st, 2010. One of the engineers was installing a cable through

The Considerate Constructors Scheme National Site Awards recognises sites that have raised the bar for considerate construction and contributed to improving the image of the construction industry. All sites registered with the Scheme are monitored by an experienced industry professional to assess their performance against a five-point Code of Considerate Practice. The Code commits them

Update to this post published on May 3rd: On May 2nd, Galactica a re-furbished Alton Towers attraction stopped mid-ride leaving its passengers upside down for 30 minutes. However the theme park attributed the stoppage to a safety feature in the form of a rain sensor. They said in a statement that the ride was working “exactly as it was meant to

Asbestos can be found in any building built before the year 2000 including houses, factories, offices, schools and hospitals. It is the cause of around 5,000 deaths every year and on average 20 trades people die every week from asbestos-related diseases (Source: HSE). If asbestos fibres are released and inhaled they can cause serious and fatal

After the collapse of the Kolkata flyover in India a couple of days ago, now feels like a good time to publish a reminder to adhere to the Construction Design and Management Regulations (CDM) 2015. Police in India have opened a case of culpable homicide against IVRCL, the principal contractor in charge of the flyover construction. The police,

After the building collapse that resulted in a major incident at Didcot A Power station on Tuesday, February 23rd we take a look at site safety and how important it is to properly and professionally plan demolition works. The Didcot incident occurred as the site was being prepared for demolition. HSE guidelines suggest that when planning